


charmed

by bangyabangya



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Boys in Skirts, Changbin is really too cool for him, First Dates, Fluff, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, M/M, Woobin - Freeform, but likes him anyway, woojin is lovestruck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 22:43:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17374613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangyabangya/pseuds/bangyabangya
Summary: Kim Woojin doesn't believe in magic, but he's getting desperate.Seo Changbin should probably think the lovestruck guy who walks into his shop is an idiot, but he doesn't.Fluffy fluffy FLUFFY woobin





	charmed

The door chimed as he pushed it open, and the first thing he noticed was the scent. He thought a flower shop would smell… well, _floral;_ but the cute little shop smelled overwhelmingly of herbs and earth. Woojin took a deep breath, a nervous smile on his lips.

All the part-timer girls at the clinic loved this place, and he could see why. It wasn't like the formal, stuffy flower shops he remembered seeing in dramas and movies. The small space looked like something out of a magazine-- natural wooden shelves against white walls held all sorts of pots and vases full of colorful flora. Everything was all white and wood and linen.

“Hi,” a cheerful, slightly scratchy voice called out. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Yes, I--” Woojin began, but stopped when he saw the owner of the voice. He'd expected a normal high school clerk or something, but the person standing behind the counter was definitely _not_ that. It was a slim, short young man, his dark hair cut straight across his forehead and his mouth small and smiling. Although he looked and sounded cheerful, he radiated something… edgy. It could have been the slight hint of shadow on his eyelids or the choppy undercut-- or maybe the tattoos that covered his arms-- but it certainly _wasn't_ the big, oversized jumper he was wearing, because that was earth-toned and soft, just like his linen apron. He was a curious mix of hard and soft, and Woojin was so distracted by it he couldn't finish his sentence.

The other man raised his eyebrows and let out a little laugh. “Sorry, you…?”

Woojin shook his head to clear it. “Yeah, um, I wanted to get some… flowers,” he finished lamely. _Come on,_ he chided himself in his head. _Stop falling apart in front of every cute boy you meet._

“Flowers?” the other person repeated, obviously trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. “Yeah, we have those. Any kind in particular?” And though he was obviously laughing at Woojin, there was no malice in it, so Woojin laughed at himself too.

“Actually, I heard that you make, um--” he cleared his throat, feeling awkward-- “charms?”

The clinic girls wouldn't shut up about them. Apparently this shop sold custom-made floral charms, and if you gave one to the person you liked, they would start to like you back. He knew it was silly, but three of the girls said they bought one and then next week their crushes _all_ asked them on dates. And yes, Woojin was a whole twenty-five year old man, and he _certainly_ didn't believe in charms or magic… but… okay, _maybe_ his last date was like, half a year ago, and _maybe_ the cute new boy at the front desk was completely oblivious to Woojin's advances. If it took a stupid flower charm to get things going, then so be it.

A wide smile spread out across the other person's face. “Oh, the love charms? That's our shop's specialty.” He pulled out a laminated sheet from underneath the counter. Woojin walked forward to take a look.

“So, there are three main components,” the shopkeeper explained, pointing. His fingers were small and slender, and his nails were covered in a layer of subtle glitter polish. “A branch, a flower, and an herb. They each have different meanings, which are written here.” He pointed to the sheet. “You should try to pick ones that match the person you like.”

Woojin thought about the front desk boy. He didn't even know his last name.

“So,” the other man said, leaning forward on the counter, “who's the lucky person?”

_‘Person,’ not 'woman,’_ Woojin noted to himself. He filed the information away for later. “Oh, just someone at work,” he answered. “I haven't really talked to them much.” He gazed at the sheet in front of him. “Okay… I guess I'll go with… Willow for the wood, mint for the herb, and… for the flower, maybe… Anemone?”

“Good choices,” the shopkeeper said. “Anemone is my favorite flower.” He gave Woojin a mischievous smile and for a moment Woojin forgot to breathe. Something about the way he smiled-- the way his sharp face just softened and his nose scrunched up-- was mesmerizing.

The shopkeeper turned away, busying himself with the shelf full of jars on the wall behind him and pulling out a collection of odds and ends. He spun a length of twine from a roll mounted to the counter, cutting it to length with a quick and practiced snip of his scissors. “The wood and herbs are real,” he said, holding up a small twig and a tiny bundle of dried leaves, “but the flowers are fake, for obvious reasons.” Woojin bent down to look more closely, and upon close inspection he could see that the miniature, delicate flowers were indeed made of some kind of fibrous paper, affixed to their stems by tiny green wire.

As he watched, the shopkeeper assembled the charm. He pinched the ingredients between his fingers and let them hang, making little adjustments here and there. When he was satisfied he grabbed a glue gun with his other hand and placed a few dots of glue around the stems. At the very end of the bundle he glued a small metal ring, then he tied everything together with the twine and slipped the charm onto a keyring. He held it up for Woojin to see.

It was a pretty little thing. It looked like a miniature bouquet, all earthy and natural like the style was nowadays. “I can add charms too, if you want. We have stars, ribbon, tiny jars of glitter…”

Woojin shook his head. “I like it like this.”

The shopkeeper looked down at the thing in his hand, his expression satisfied. “Me too,” he said. “I think this is one of my best.”

He stared down at it for a second longer, then packaged it in a cute paper packet. He folded the top of the packet down, sealed it with a cut of gold patterned washi tape, and then held it out to Woojin. “It works best if you're the one who attaches it to the other person's bag, or wherever they want to use it,” he said. When Woojin took the packet, their hands touched. Just for a moment. His breath caught in his throat.

“That'll be $12.50.”

Woojin paid and stuffed his wallet back in his pocket. “Thanks,” he said, and turned to leave. Part of him wanted to stay-- to talk more with this curious, captivating person-- but he couldn’t think of a single believable excuse to start another conversation. So he just turned and headed for the door.

“Thanks for coming!” the shopkeeper’s voice rang out. “Have a nice day!”

Woojin glanced back over his shoulder  to look and for the second time that day, he nearly forgot to breathe. The shopkeeper had stepped out from behind the counter to wave at him, and he was wearing a _skirt_. An ocean-colored, gathered skirt that showed off his legs, which were covered with more tattoos. Most of them were black floral pieces, and the edge of a particularly large tattoo was just peeking out from the bottom of the skirt on his left thigh.

When Woojin realized he was staring with his mouth open, his cheeks lit up and he hurried out of the shop. His cheeks stayed red until he got back to his apartment, and he clutched the packet to his chest the whole damn way.

* * *

 “Hey Wooj, did you make it to that flower shop?”

Jihyo was twirling her pen in between her fingers as she stared at the computer screen, looking at a prescription label. She copied it down into the patient's chart in front of her.

“What makes you think I went there?” Woojin said defensively.

Jihyo stopped writing and rolled her eyes. “Please. You only asked me for the name of it like three times. Isn't Changbin cute?”

“Changbin?”

“Yeah, the guy who works there. Short, dark, kinda weird? Tattoos all over?”

_Changbin._ He turned the name over and over in his head. It fit.

“I didn't go,” Woojin lied.

Jihyo just raised her eyebrows at him. “Yeah, okay. So when I see a charm on that new boy's bag I'll _totally_ believe it's not from you.”

But Woojin hardly thought about the new boy that day, or any of the days that followed. Instead, his head was full of the scent of herbs and earth.

* * *

 Exactly how many times can one person realistically go to a flower shop in a month?

Woojin was definitely about to find out.

* * *

 “Back again?”

Woojin’s heart skipped a beat at Changbin’s voice. “Yeah,” he answered, trying to sound casual. “My boss loved the terrarium you put together last time. She asked me to come and pick up some things for the clinic, to make it a little brighter.”

Changbin’s face lit up. He had been really worried about the terrarium-- he said it was his first time putting one together when Woojin came in last week, and after he finished, he said he was worried about whether Woojin’s boss would like it or not. “I don’t want to get you on her bad side by bringing her an ugly plant,” he’d said. Woojin had assured him it was beautiful, and his surprised smile when he heard that was enough to make Woojin grin like an idiot for the rest of the day.

“That’s great, I’m glad she liked it. I was so worried you were going to come back in here and tell me you got fired,” he laughed.

“No, she really loved it. All of our patients have been commenting on it too. I actually had to put your card next to it at the registration desk ‘cause so many people asked us where it was from.”

Changbin was positively _beaming_. “Wow,” he said. “I’m flattered.” He put a hand on his chest and fluttered his eyes. Both of them laughed, and the thought surfaced in Woojin’s head that he would do anything to hear this sound. When he was really into it, Changbin’s laugh got high-pitched and fast, and he did this little thing where he scrunched his nose up and nearly closed his eyes. It was adorable and it made Woojin’s heart pound. He wanted to make him laugh like that again.

“What kind of things are you looking for today, then?” Changbin asked once he’d calmed down. “We just got some new Burro’s Tail in. It’s really pretty. Can’t handle the heat, though. How hot is it in your clinic?”

“We usually keep it pretty cool. Being sick and hot is not usually a good combination.”

“Oh, this might be perfect then! Here, let me show you.”

Changbin showed him around the shop, taking his time and pointing out all of the good and bad points of the different arrangements. He was wearing jeans today-- skinny black ones, with another big, colorful sweater on top. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

After nearly an hour, Woojin handed over the company credit card as Changbin carefully packaged the five new pieces. They’d decided on two hanging pots of Burro’s Tail, a pair of small Echeveria in little white ceramic pots, and a wildflower floral arrangement in a mason jar vase.

“You know,” Woojin said, “don’t you guys have a lot of non-flower things for a florist’s shop?”

Changbin just hummed, busy fitting the wildflowers into a standing box. “We get most of our business from events, like weddings and stuff. All of the supplies for that are kept in our cold storage in the warehouse. The storefront is mostly for show, but I’ve been convincing them to stock more regular plants. It’s been doing pretty well so far.”

“Oh, wow. Cool.”  

Changbin slid the final box into place in the crate and smiled, hands on his hips. “All done! I hope your boss likes these too.” He slid the crate forward towards Woojin. Woojin took it, his heart sinking. This was the last fake cover-up story he could think of to get him in the shop. (Well, his boss _did_ actually ask him to pick up the plants. But only because Woojin spent twenty minutes convincing her.)

After this, what other reasons would he have to come back?

When would he be able to see Changbin again?

“Hey,” he blurted out. “Can I-- can I, uh, see your apron?”

Changbin gave him a puzzled look. “Sorry, what?”

“Your apron,” Woojin said, wringing his hands nervously. “Just-- I’m sorry, can I just see it for a second?” _Kim Woojin,_ his brain screamed, _this is a terrible idea and you’re an idiot._

The other man was looking at him like he had three heads. But after a second he shrugged and pulled the apron off, and handed it to Woojin across the counter.

Woojin’s heart was thumping in his chest so loudly he was convinced the whole city could hear it. His hands were slightly sweaty as he fumbled around in his bag, searching, he _knew_ it was in here somewhere-- and finally his hands closed around the crumpled paper. Crumpled because he’d been carrying it around with him everywhere since he'd bought it three weeks ago . Heart still beating wildly, his fingers slipped inside the paper and drew out the thing he’d been searching for.

The charm.

His hands were shaking as he fastened it to the metal D-ring on the apron’s neck strap. It took him a few tries, but finally the metal keyring snapped closed. It was done.

He lifted his gaze to look Changbin in the eye. The other man’s expression was unreadable and Woojin’s heart sank, but it was too late to take it back now. “Yeah, I… I was making excuses to come in here and see you,” Woojin confessed. He pushed the apron back across the counter. “I mean, I wasn’t _lying_ . I did need to get a gift for my boss. And she _did_ ask me to come back and buy more stuff for the clinic, and--”

“You’re babbling,” Changbin interrupted.

“I-- yeah, shit, I’m babbling.” Woojin drew in a deep breath. “Changbin, I”m sorry. I know this is weird and you don’t know me. But I think you’re cute and you seem funny and I’ve really enjoyed the, like, two hours total that I’ve spent with you so far and I really can’t think of another excuse to come back to your shop so, do you wanna like, maybe go on a date with me sometime?”

Changbin held the apron out in front of him. The charm dangled from the D-ring, hanging perfectly over the chest part of the fabric. He tweaked the little bundle with his finger. “You know, I was really surprised when you picked these,” he said. Woojin's heart was still thumping loudly in his chest and he was hanging on to Changbin's every word.

“I was surprised because these are the same ones I would have picked for myself,” he went on. “Willow, mint, and anemone. I'm always making these charms for other people--” he paused to slip the apron on over his head, tying it behind him-- “and I've always kind of wished that someone would come in here and make one thinking about me.” He finally looked up at Woojin, and his face was glowing. “You weren't thinking about me then, but this is just as good.” Changbin leaned across the counter. “So yes, Woojin, I would love to go on a date with you.” And he reached out to grab Woojin's shoulder, drawing him closer and placing a solid kiss on his lips. “Now get out of here before my boss sees me and I get fired for kissing the customers.”

Woojin just blinked at him. His legs wouldn't move. His mouth wouldn't close. He tried to think of something to say but his brain was too fucking stuck on Changbin's lips to form a coherent sentence-- so instead he just stood there, gaping like an idiot.

Changbin laughed and shook his head. “What am I gonna do with you?” His tone was amused. He grabbed a marker from the register and uncapped it with a _pop._ “Give me your arm.”

Woojin finally snapped out of his stupor and regained control of his body, stretching his arm out. Changbin grabbed it with one hand and began writing on his bare skin with the other. His touch was cool and the pads of his fingers were a little rough against Woojin's skin. Woojin wanted to kiss them, one by one. _Shut up!_ his mind screamed silently at himself.

When Changbin finished, he capped the marker and winked at Woojin. “Call me, okay?”

Woojin's mouth was still extremely lacking in the speech department, so he just nodded. He started backing away towards the door-- and ran straight into a table of succulents.

Changbin raised a single eyebrow. “Bye, Woojin.”

“Y-yeah,” Woojin stuttered, making a wide circle around the table. “Thanks. Bye.”

And with that he turned and dashed out of the store, the tintinnabulation of the little bells on the door sounding like a chorus of laughter that chased him out of the shop. But he didn't even care. Changbin's number was written in ink on his arm, and they were going on a fucking _date._

Maybe the charms did work, after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> next chapter is their first date! I wonder how it'll go..
> 
> thanks for reading <3 I've been real deep in my woobin feels lately. 
> 
> @staybangbang on twt if you wanna scream at me about fics!


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